Kang War Squadron
by Captain Kobold
Summary: This story is set during the Kang War, when Hyperion is asked to reform the Squadron Sinister to fight Kang. But will they survive?
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to the Avengers, or the Squadron Supreme(or the JLA for that matter). So if you do, please don't sue me._

_Since I had the idea for this series,Idiscovered that Hyperion died in the course of Mark Gruenwald's 'Supreme' series. I have two answers for how he's still alive here; first, this is fanfiction, it doesn't have to be 100 accurate; and secondly, 'Supreme' is set in another universe, and as such , by definition, is non-canon. Or, maybe I can come with an excuse during the course of writing_

"…And so, in conclusion," said Hyperion, looking at his notes, "enough plutonium has gone missing from Russian silos for a sizable bomb to be made. Now, considering that a dedicated group could use a small amount of radioactive material to make what is referred to on page 12 of the report as a 'dirty bomb'," there was a rustling of paper in the auditorium as people went through their papers, "I think I can safely speak for everyone in this hall when I call for an end to nuclear proliferation.

There was applause. Hands shot up, demanding answers. The American delegate stood up, and said, "Certainly nobody wants to start a world war, but wouldn't you say that, given the threat posed to humanity by rogue superhumans, these weapons were needed?" There were murmurings of discontent from various parts of the hall.

Hyperion smiled. "I'm not saying that at all, sir. But in the course of researching this report, I discovered that the American military controls enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world several times over. The Russian military has that much again, as none of their nuclear weaponry has been put beyond use. The Chinese government declined to tell me, in the course of my research, exactly how much fissionable material they had – which is of course their right as a sovereign nation. But, even if they had none, it does appear to me that the world does not need this many weapons, and certainly needs no more."

There was further applause. Hyperion nodded, and yielded the podium. In retrospect, writing that book had been the best thing he'd ever done. Since his world had been destroyed by early human experiments with fission, and he'd come here, he'd been a flaming ball of hatred. When the Grandmaster had approached him with the promise of strong allies, he'd jumped.

But, as the Vision had pointed out to him so many years ago, hatred of humanity for the actions of a small number of humans was irrational. Since then he'd been at something of a loose end, until one day, the flier from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament had arrived. In that one leaflet, he'd felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. He'd gone to their address immediately, and they'd been interested in his story. Talk had moved to a book, to a signing tour, and now, he found himself addressing the United Nations. The strangeness of this world never ceased to amaze him.

He sat down next to Elaine Low, the book reviewer from the Daily Bugle. When the book had come out, she'd petitioned J. Jonah Jameson to let her cover the signing tour. Her admiration for him had grown into friendship over the past few months.

"My God," she said, "you could actually do it. The UN could agree to an anti-nuclear resolution based on this report!"

Hyperion looked over the crowd. "They haven't voted yet, and there's still the final speaker," he said.

Elaine laughed. "You just can't be positive, can you?" She leaned closer to him. "But seriously, if the vote goes through, what would you say to a dinner tonight?"

Hyperion smiled. "That'd be wonderful, I – " He stopped. His super-hearing was telling him there was a commotion outside. Using his x-ray vision, he looked through the walls of the United Nations Building, to the plaza…

Now he could see what the source of the commotion was. Out in the plaza, the Avengers were fighting against a man in a red suit. He briefly scanned the man. He seemed to be human, no genetic or surgical enhancements of any kind. But his armour – Hyperion blinked. The man's armour contained enough energy to hurt his super eyes.

Now, the man had been held down, and the Avengers were talking to by a man in floating chair. Hyperion recognised the man; it was Kang, the villain who had made the bet with the Grandmaster that had led to the original creation of the Squadron Sinister. He stood up – vote or no vote, he owed that purple jerk for a wasted lifetime, and he intended to make him pay –

Suddenly, he became aware that signals were coming from miles above him. He looked up, through the roof. There, hanging in space above them, was the biggest sword in the world. It began to glow, and a beam of the purest energy that Hyperion had ever seen flared out of the blade, straight for the plaza. He put his hands up, knowing that this was the end…

The first thing that Hyperion realised, after the energy wave of the sword washed over him, was that he wasn't dead. The second thing he realised was that, judging from the screams all around him, neither was anyone else. Kang had apparently spared them, as a gesture of his power.

Kang was on the other side of the square, holding a conversation with the Avenger and the UN Secretary. The entire staff of United Nation Plaza, hundreds of people, was listening in, while the square was surrounded by an impregnable force-field.

"I would like to show you a vision of the future," said Kang. He pressed a button on his chair, and a picture formed in the air beside him. He began to detail the story of a radioactive horror that would emerge from Russia sometime in the near future. Humanity, it seemed, was doomed.

But to Hyperion's ear, there was a problem. All through the narrative, Kang's heartbeat kept giving little jumps – not always, but a lot. The man was not telling the whole truth, but was keeping the story close enough to the truth that the images didn't disagree.

He showed some other futures, and again, there were jumps. The man was lying to them.

Kang laughed at something that the UN Secretary had just said. "I look forward to the coming conflict, sir. But one other offer I made at the start of this talk – anyone who rebels against their current rulers, and seizes a part of the earth land in my name, they will have status in the new order." His heartbeat didn't jump. "Perhaps you'd like to hear what's been going on out there."

At a wave of his hand, every radio in the vicinity turned on. Hyperion, with his superhearing, picked up all of them. Atlantean forces had seized Prince Edward Island. A group of Deviants were advancing in central China. The Master of Evil had struck in Seattle. The Wrecking Crew had attacked Houston, and were fighting the Rangers at the moment. And, on the police band, there were reports that Dr. Octopus, Mysterio, and the Hobgoblin had all secured land in the city.

"So, you shall, I am certain, be busy," said Kang, wearing one of the nastiest grins that Hyperion had ever seen, "and I shall leave you to exhaust yourselves, and leave you ripe to me. But one guarantee – if my son or I are attacked while we leave, we shall respond with the weaponry in our base – and this time, there will be no mercy." He pressed a button on his wrist, and the force-field dissolved. Beside Hyperion, Elaine held onto his arm as the entire New York National Guard appeared on the other side. There was a pause, and they lowered their weapons. Everyone let out a deep breath.

"Ah, wisdom," said Kang. "But remember what I said at the start, Avengers. Look to the East – for it has already begun!" And with that, he vanished.

Triathlon looked at his teammates: Giant-Man, Wasp, Warbird, Vision and Iron Man. "So... any of you guys got a plan for this one?"

Wasp shrugged her shoulders. "I wish we did, Duane. But Kang's never – " Her eye caught sight of Hyperion. "Damn! Everyone, look alive! It's the Squadron Sinister!"

Hyperion put his hands up to pacify her. "No longer with the Squadron Sinister, Wasp," he said, "I was here today giving a speech to the UN on the subject of nuclear non-proliferation."

Wasp was unconvinced. "And why would the UN let you in, except for you to hold them hostage?"

The Vision spoke up. "Hyperion wrote a book on the subject of his planet blowing up recently, Wasp. I bought it in Chicago. I'll lend you my copy, if you like."

"Oh. Right." Wasp smiled apologetically, and shrugged. "Sorry, but – well, it looks as if it's going to be a long day." She turned to the rest of the Avengers. "C'mon, team, we have to get ready to move out!"

Someone tapped Hyperion on the shoulder. He turned; it was Noah Garrett, another of the speaker on the non-proliferation bill – less than an hour before.

"There's a man here from the State Department." Hyperion looked over at the man in the suit. The man introduced himself as Mr. Weatherell. "I was to the last speaker at the debate. However, since then, I've received a message from Headquarters. I've been informed that the President is offering to sign up to your treaty, provided you'll put the Squadron Sinister together as a team to combat Kang's forces."

Hyperion nodded. "Agreed. I'll try to re-assemble the team."


	2. Chapter 2 AllNew, AllDifferent

_I still don't own the rights, alas. Thanks to Danrilor for his review. Anyone else out there?_

He hadn't been sure about this, but when he'd heard the police report, it had seemed like fate. He landed in front of the bank, and gesturing to the tellers to stay quiet, he walked through the bank, to the ripped bank vault. There, hard at work on the locks of safe-deposit boxes, was Stanley Steward, aka Speed Demon, aka The Whizzer. He was using a solvent to melt through locks in seconds. "Pretty clever," said Hyperion in conversational tone.

Stanley turned around, but apparently relaxed when he saw his former teammate. "Hey there, good buddy. Whaddaya mean?" He poured more solvent onto another the locks.

Hyperion shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I'm assuming your plan is to move in on the bank, while the police and superheroes are all busy with the world-conquerors."

Stanley laughed. "Close, man, but not close enough." He turned back to the lock. "No, I'm moving in now 'cos I have an idea of what's coming. If Kang takes over, it's gonna mean cops with lasers and anti-gravity tear-gas, and like that. I'm getting in while I can."

"I have another proposition for you," said Hyperion, coming further into the room.

"Huh. Lemme guess, this something to do with this new buddy-buddy thing you got goin' on with the UN, right?" Hyperion nodded. "Sorry, man. I just can't stop laughin'." He turned to face Hyperion, smiling. "The mighty Hyperion! Last Son of Prometheon! Reduced to speeches and letter-writin' campaigns!" He shrugged his shoulders. "See, back when I was a biochemist, the conferences were the only drawback. And now I got this well – patience isn't something I'm good at, y'see? But thanks for the offer."

Suddenly, his hands moved, throwing the rest of the acid at Hyperion. As Hyperion moved, Stanley's hands moved again, taking a cartridge from his belt, opening it to revealed a set of throwing discs, which, in less than a second were flying through the air –

To where Hyperion had been. Now, Stanley was being held up against the wall, and as he looked into Hyperion's glowing eyes, he knew that the only thing standing between his brain and daylight was Hyperion's patience.

"Ok, let me rephrase this," said Hyperion, conversationally. "Yes, the UN has asked me to put together a team to fight Kang. Yes, I immediately thought of you, and I thought of including you, for old time's sake. But yes, I also that you're wanted in three countries for charges ranging from theft to murder, so no, I won't have any qualms about breaking your neck. So do you want in or not?"

Stanley grinned. "Well, when you put it like this, how can I refuse?"

"Alrighty, True Believers, it's everyone's favourite neighbourhood – oh." Hyperion and Stanley both turned, to see Spider-Man standing in the door of the vault. "Pipped at the punch, huh?" he said. He sounded exhausted. "So what're you doin' here, Speedy?"

"Oh, this guy talked me into savin' the world, I think," said Stanley, as Hyperion let go of his throat.

"The UN asked me to put together a team to fight Kang," said Hyperion. "Can I sign you up?"

Spider-Man shook his hand at them. "Sorry, man. Too many people depending on me, y'know?" He stood silent for a second. "But I think I can give you some names, if you want…"

As Hobie Brown, aka the Prowler, saw the brownstone on the other side of the street, he thought, for the hundredth time, that it could be a trap. And for the hundredth time, he thought: No, Spider-Man would never set me up like this.

Checking the distance, he jumped, allowing the new anti-gravity harness he'd been working on to keep him aloft, as he drifted towards the opposite wall. The claws in his gloves dug into the stone, and he climbed up to the window. He knocked.

The window opened. Standing there was a white red-haired guy in a red costume with a yellow cape. On his chest was an atom symbol. "You're the Prowler, right?" Hobie nodded. The man grinned, and offered Hobie his hand. "Howd'y'do. I'm Hyperion. Spider-Man told me he'd ask you to come. Why don't you come in? I'll introduce everyone."

As Hobie climbed in, he looked around the room. In one corner, ears in a Walkman, was a man in a black costume with red eye-lenses. In the centre, there were three people talking, two women and one man. One of the women was tall, with black hair and green eyes; the other was decked out in silver armour, and she carried a staff with a glowing end. The man had a light purple costume, with a fin on his head, and he carried a glowing sword. There was a man in a suit, glancing at his watch. And finally, in one of the chairs, there was a young female Skrull, reading a Robert Jordan novel. At the sound of the window closing, they all stopped and looked at him.

"Alright, everyone," said Hyperion, "this is the Prowler. Prowler, this is the Whizzer," he pointed to the man in the corner, who stood up, "Sersi," the black-haired woman smiled at him, "Swordsman and Magdelena," the couple came forward to shake hands, "and this is Zcann." The Skrull woman, having found a bookmark, stood up to greet him.

"So let me get this straight," said the man in the suit, "You've put together a team consisting of an aliens, a super-criminal, an Eternal, and two extradimensional soldiers, and you think that bringing in a part-time vigilante will bring it all into balance again?"

"Yeah, that's the thing," said Hobie, embarrassed. "I just came to say that I couldn't come. See, yesterday, I was patrolling my neighbourhood, when I was approached by Blade – you know, the vampire hunter?" They had. "Well, he told me that a vampire called Hunger had taken over a local HYDRA cell, and was planning to take Kang up on his offer. In fact, I'm due over there in an hour."

"If we can help you, will you join?" said Hyperion. He was hoping that Prowler would join. They needed someone who was a part of the world. They needed Prowler.

He stood there for a second, then shrugged. "Yeah, that sounds fair."


	3. Chapter 3: Harsh Reality

OK, for anyone who hasn't worked it out yet, in true Squadron Supreme style, the team is sort of an analog of the Justice League. So HyperionSuperman, ProwlerBatman, Speed DemonFlash, SersiWonder Woman/Green Lantern, SwordsmanGreen Arrow(ish), MagdelenaBlack Canary, ZcannMartian Manhunter. It's not perfect, but I'm too lazy to come up with new characters.

They'd met Blade at a manhole in the Bronx. Introductions were made, and Blade led them down the hole. As they walked through the sewers, Blade told them about Hunger.

"A few years ago, HYDRA had a super-hitman called Crown. Deadly as they came, over a hundred kills to his name. Got his powers from some dimensional wormhole that HYDRA discovered. Unfortunately, the energy came with a built-in time limit; he knew that within a few years, he'd be sucked through his own powers, to the other side. But then, HYDRA discovered Morbius, the living vampire, and his unique cellular structure. Crown reasons that maybe Morbius' enhanced body could help him to beat the time limit. So, he talked the local HYDRA bosses into it. Except, that same night, Crown and Morbius were both sucked through the wormhole, everyone writes them off. And then, a few months later, Morbius shows up in the middle of a gang war. Seems he came back. But when he did, he brought back Hunger.

"Now, I know vampires – and let me tell you, most of the stories are rubbish. They can't fly, and they can't change shape. But this guy, Hunger – he's got all that. From what Spider-Man's told me, Hunger's fast, strong, tough – and he's got this psychic link between himself and his 'children'."

"Sounds dangerous," said Hyperion looking around the sewer.

"Yeah," said blade, continuing the story. "A few weeks ago, when Hunger became active again, I stepped in. Dude almost flattened me. So I came to my boy Hobie for help."

"And you got us," Speed Demon cut in. "I just hope we survive this."

"Oh, _we_ will," said a voice from the shadows, "don't you worry your pretty little heads about that. But you – no, I don't think I could stomach that."

A humanoid stepped out of the shadows. His commanding manner and lack of fear shook the heroes. He might as well have been expecting them.

"Welcome. I am Hunger," said the man. His eyes ran over the group. "Very interesting… Blade, is this truly the best you could do? Really, this is demeaning. What will Kang say when he discovers that all I had to beat to serve him was a group of part-time Avengers?"

"You won't make it as far as Kang," said Swordsman, taking his sword out of its scabbard…

"Stop," Hunger said, and the group immediately froze. Hunger grinned at the shocked Blade. "It is one of the gifts of the vampires that we can control the minds of lesser beings. This extends to almost most humans and almost all superhumans."

"But not all," said Speed Demon. He stepped out of the group. "See, my power allows me to think several times faster than an ordinary human, letting me shake off your hoodoo."

"And the energy that gives all Eternals their power saturates the brain and encephalic system, making me immune," said sersi, also stepping forward.

"Interesting," said Hunger. "But your friends, I am sure, cannot say the same."

Suddenly, Hyperion turned around and knocked Sersi through the wall of the sewer. Prowler, Swordsman and Magdelena began battering Blade into submission. And Zcann lashed out at Speed Demon, telepathically forcing him to go to sleep.

"Hmm," said Hunger. "Yes, I think we'll leave them here now. It'll be far more fun to watch their expressions when their own friends, newly reborn as my undead slaves, kill them!"

Speed Demon woke up, and immediately wished he hadn't. The after-effects of Zcann's assault had left him with a mother of a headache. "Is anyone still alive?" he said.

"I am," said Sersi, appearing in his field of vision. "By Hoggoth, that boy can throw a punch."

"Yeah. Hey, where's Blade?"

Sersi went pale. "They must have taken him with them."

Speed Demon spread his hands. "Well, that's it. We tried. We failed. Worse epitaphs, yadda yadda yadda. Now let's go home and move on with our lives."

"How can you be so callous?"

"I'm not. I'm being practical. Look, to do this involves a high risk of loss of life. Maybe in the old Squadron, I would have tried to get back Hype, 'cos that's what you do in a team or a gang: you look out for your team-mates because no-one else will. Now, Hype is some sort of super-Boy Scout, truth and justice and all that crap. He only got me on this team 'cos he tried to kill me. If he's waiting for me to rescue him, let him wait."

"So that's it? You know that a man's about to be killed, and now you're going to do nothing about it?"

"Yup." Sersi picked up a brick. "Hey what're you doing with that?"

"It's my power. All Eternal have power, but with effort, we can all use that power to some personal affect. Like me, my power is that I can turn matter into energy…" As Speed Demon watched, the brick slowly turned into a nimbus of light between Sersi's fingers.

"…and energy into matter." Suddenly, the light began to coalesce into a new brick. But this one was made of gold. She threw it to him, and he caught it, marvelling at it.

"There's another one in it for you if you'll help me get them back."

Speed Demon looked up suddenly. "What? You can produce gold bricks on demand, and you're handing them out so I'll help you rescue some clowns from a vampire?"

"Firstly, I don't like the idea of Hunger killing them, especially not for such a petty reason. And, secondly," she grinned, "rushing to the rescue of our team-mates through the sewers of Manhattan? People would kill to be involved in something like this."

"Well said," said a voice from the shadows. Out stepped the man in the suit who'd convinced Hyperion to bring them together.

"Agent Garrett? What are you doing here?" said Sersi.

"My bosses want a comprehensive case-file on your abilities and performance. To help them evaluate your probable tactical usefulness."

"So you followed us through the sewers?" Agent Garrett nodded. "God, you're a stubborn bastard."

"Yeah, my wife tells me that a lot. So are we going or what?"


End file.
